(given away)
by FeeptheNinja
Summary: Tiny little pieces made of love, and hope, and dreams. [TPDP-verse drabble.]


"Ha-ha!" The ice fairy cackles, giggles, puffs up in pride as the newspaper girl's last Puppet falls down in exhaustion. "I _told_ you I'd win! I'm the _strongest,_ and I- huh?"

She notices that the newspaper girl isn't listening.

In fact, it kinda looks like the newspaper girl is... sleeping?

"He~ey!" The frozen fairy scowls, stomps her feet a bit. "Wake up~! You know, it's _rude_ to just fall asleep when people are _talking_ to you!"

The newspaper girl doesn't say anything back, and Cirno harrumphs.

Stares.

 _... is she sick?_ She wonders, as minutes pass and the girl remains motionless.

Eventually, she grabs the child by the ankle and drags her over to the resting house.

Even sworn enemies deserve a little mercy sometimes.

* * *

"What the _hell?"_

The first sentence out of Marisa's mouth when the outsider kid collapses not one moment after her last Puppet does - and she won't lie, she's more than a bit worried. After a quick rudimentary vitals check (all clear) and a couple minutes worth of vigorous shaking, Marisa deduces that the kid must be passed out cold.

Which is more than a little odd.

She sighs, hefting her up and starting the walk back towards the resting house. They'd probably know what to do about this - and if not, well, then at least the kid would be safe in there.

* * *

"Popped right back up when her Puppets were restored," the house maid shrugs, "Fit as a fiddle."

Marisa stares.

Wonders.

* * *

She is quite literally inside a hospital the third time it happens, hits the tatami and even Mokou freezes, stops dead in her tracks, wonders if she's somehow managed to go overboard in something as simple (nonlethal) as a _Puppet fight._

But Eirin is there and Reisen is there and even Kaguya doesn't have the heart to drag on a fight with a possibly-injured kid on the ground _right there_ and so they examine her while the little dolls rest.

"There doesn't appear to be anything _physically_ wrong with her, at any rate," the doctor says, and Mokou sighs in relief, Kaguya shrugs, and they all resume their spirited duel in about an hour or so.

* * *

The unconscious child is unceremoniously removed from the Scarlet household at _least_ seven times - if not more - and Remilia has become used to ordering her tiny copy to shove the falling girl away from the table's edge on her way down.

"You didn't hit _her_ on the way out, did you?" She asks Sakuya - every time, even though the child sparred with the perfect and elegant maid only once.

Every time, Sakuya shakes her head.

* * *

The Hakurei Maiden doesn't want to take the time to do it herself - and so it is a tired Reimu Puppet that pulls the limp body down the mountain to recover.

The tengu watch with wide eyes.

* * *

Sanae's face goes white as a sheet, and she catches her, brings her inside and doesn't leave until the child starts to stir, shifts groggily on the futon, even then insists she stay and rest.

Kanako looks disquieted.

Shakes her head when Sanae asks why.

* * *

Though she doesn't end up fainting during their spar, Satori can tell that something is more than a little off in regards to the child's heart - can't tell _what,_ exactly, but certainly _something_ is quite deeply wrong.

Feels- fractured.

Seems- splintered.

* * *

Shinki knows exactly what is wrong with the child's soul.

She has known it from the precise moment the girl stepped within the boundaries of Makai - a perk of goddesshood, one could say - and she has known it all three times that Yumeko had to carry the unconscious human back outside to rest, to wake, with gentle Louise.

The child doesn't _really_ want to send the Puppets away (Shinki, like Kanako, like Satori, doesn't need to read quick-flashing hands or dark-scribbled notes to know what the girl wants), but she wants ( _needs_ ) to prove herself to the red-white and she wants ( _needs_ ) to make Sanae proud and she wants ( _needs_ ) to impress the forest magician, so she stands before Shinki and blinks back tears and ( _bow, clap, bow_ ) asks anyway.

And Shinki sees her soul, torn, tiny ragged scraps sewn into the hearts of dolls standing at her sides, solemn with the understanding of the situation's enormity.

Shinki stares, for one moment.

Then nods.

* * *

...

("A little white lie," she'd whispered, passed the child drowned deep in sleep to the smirking blonde schemer.)

...

("You knew it was a one-way trip," she'd sighed, shaking her head as she watched the woman walk off, an uncharacteristic sway in her steps, wondered exactly where she got off, tricking little children into permanent emigration.

Wondered if she really even tricked her.)

...

("Ahn, what an interesting little turn of events," _She_ chuckled, brushed her fingers lightly over the girl's chest, gently-thrumming life inside her ribcage, knew all along, knew all along.)

...

("... now, you should dream a little deeper.")

* * *

 **A/N: just take tpdp away from me**


End file.
